Knowledge vs. Phenomenon is the basic distinction. Now we need to do a sorting exercise. Where would I put sensations? Broadly under phenomena. Where would I put experience? Broadly under knowledge. There is more to be said about what we consider as experience and what as knowledge. But I'm not equipped to do that.
If I have experience playing the violin, I have some knowledge of it. It also helps me in acquiring new knowledge, like playing the cello.
The distinction you are talking about becomes important when we are talking about "knowing that" or "declarative knowledge". The theory of thermodynamics is distinct from the methods of acquiring that theory, like experiments, equations etc. But when we talk of experience, we are not beholden to that distinction. The knowledge of cycling and the means of acquiring it are logically distinguishable but not empirically separable.
But I don't think I'm arguing against Multiple Worlds Theory.
Not knowing about x is no proof for the non existence of x. (That's one part of the multiple world claim).
But my claim is this. Either there are some common, (or relatable) set of distinctions in our deeds and words and therefore I can recognize it as an experience. Or, I can only see it as an event needing some explanation.
Either the contortions on someone's face are indications of grief (assuming I know grief), or, if I don't know what grief is, then, they are merely some physiological events needing some explanation. We don't have a way out of this either/or situation.
Thank you very much for this detailed and careful response. Probably, this requires another post altogether to respond. But a few clarifications for now:
1. I have corrected the sentence beginning "If we can maneuver an automobile..." Sorry about the shoddy editing.
2. Comportment: You had me there! I've mostly encountered that word in Heidegger translations. And clearly, the ambiguity shows. Let me change that.
3. Now, a few substantive issues:
Take the case of an astronaut returning from space travel and reporting things. Let’s assume, she says, “you don’t experience gravity in outer space”. In day-to-day contexts this is a perfectly harmless and fairly accurate description. The problem... (read 576 more words →)
Some people argue that their experiences are unique and therefore others cannot be privy to it. In politics and issues relating to righting historical wrongs, such arguments then become a conversation stopper. So we need an understanding of experience which is sensitive to the fact that others' experiences are different while not allowing for it to be claimed as unique and private.
Experience is also a way to acquire knowledge. The crucial distinction is that experience is not a psychological event, like say, trauma or neurosis, could be a psychological event.
And regarding the game of cards, I'm agnostic about whether there is or there is no platonic model. But the game, or any meaningful system, has a convention, which cannot be reduced to the individual memory or knowledge people have about it. That's the force behind saying something is a convention.
Two instances of our ways of using the notion of experience:
In both the above-mentioned cases, the idea of experience is that it is a "private episode". Private, because, it is unique to an individual and occurs in the inner theater of the mind, and episode, because, it has a duration and is some kind of recording... (read 614 more words →)
The only problem is these examples render the very idea of experience superfluous.
And your test case about molestation is such a morally charged issue that I would not hazard logic chopping on it yet. (Hint: if the victim has some way of making sense of the event, it is an experience. If the victim has not emerged from the shock of it, then it is a trauma, a raw event, and not an experience).